Fallout 3: A Novelization
by SubNordicJamison
Summary: A novelization of one of my favorite games, Fallout 3. Please r, r, and r.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Growing Up

"They just grow up so fast!"

When the girl came out, she cried at the sheer horror of being there, in the world. More specifically, a brightly lit room with medical equipment. She saw a man lean other her, wearing a white coat. The man said something about being her father. She was told that her name would be Kate, after her mother. A small screen was pushed towards her, showing an image of a pretty woman, with her auburn hair in a ponytail. Arms scooped her up from under, showing her to the woman laying on the table. Her face was covered in sweat and she looked like she had gone through a major ordeal. The woman commented on the girls resemblance to her father. The arms put the girl back on the table.

The medical equipment started to buzz and beep worriedly, as if something was happening. The woman on the table started to breathe heavily, as if it was difficult to fill her lungs. The man yelled for the woman to be helped. The baby girl stopped crying, wondering what was taking place. The man told another doctor to puts the baby girl out of the room and it all disappeared.

ONE YEAR LATER

The girl opened her eyes and was greeted by a hazy white light. "Careful. the light is just another thing to get used to down here," A familiar voice consoled her. Her vision cleared and she saw the man, wearing his usual white lab coat, this time on top of a blue coverall jumpsuit. The man bent down, "Come on, walk to daddy!" His hands were receptively placed towards the ground. The girl complied, using her two small legs to propel her to the man. She walked into the man's arms and he scooped her up. "Look at that! Only a year old and already walking like a pro!" The man swung her around slightly, continuing his small speech. "Your mother would be so proud," the man then placed her on the ground. "I'm sorry to do this, but it is only for a little while," The man said as he shut the gate on her small enclosure. The man left the room, the sound of a shutting door followed.

Now alone, the girl began to look around, seeing her toybox just outside of the enclosure. She made quick work of the gate, using her small hands to fiddle with the latch. She pushed it open and walked right out. The girl looked in the box, seeing her favorite stuffed bear. She grabbed it, and clutched it for wanting to hold it. Left just outside of the box was a book that the man had recently read to her, called 'You're Special'. She decided to ignore it and continue making her bear dance. Soon, the sound of the door opening came again and the girl looked up to see the man smiling at her.

"You're quite the little explorer, aren't you? Serves me right for trying to pen you in. I want to show you something," the man said, advancing toward a framed passage on a table near her toybox. "It's a passage from the Bible. 'Revelation 21:6 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely'. It was your mother's favorite verse," the man bent his head down reverently and then began to lead the girl out of the room. "C'mon, lets go see if your little friend Amata wants to play,"

NINE YEARS LATER

"Surprise!"

"Jeez, Stanley, you turned on the lights to fast. You blinded the poor kid!"

"Happy birthday, Kate! I can't believe you're already ten. Your mother would be so proud!" Kate's vision cleared, revealing a scene in the cafeteria of the vault. Everyone had gathered to celebrate her tenth birthday. Her father stood in front of her, in his usual white lab coat. Behind him stood Amata, Kate's best friend, and the daughter of the vault's Overseer. The Overseer stepped up to Kate.

"Well, now that you're ten, that means you are ready for your first vault responsibilities! That means you get your very own Pip-boy," the man said to her. He handed her a rather bulky looking wrist appliance. The girl looked around and saw that many of the adults and older children wore their own. She took it from the Overseer and slid it on her right wrist. It fit comfortably.

Amata walked to Kate, " Happy birthday! I bet you can't guess what I got you for your present. Go on, guess!" Amata pestered.

"... I really don't know, Amata. What is it?" Kate resigned.

Amata smiled at her own cleverness. "Who's your favorite barbarian? That's right, Grognak! Issue 14. And with no missing pages!"

Kate knew it was weird but, hell, she liked comic books. "Wow, thanks Amata! Where did you get it?

"I found it in a box of my dad's old things. Weird, imagine him reading comics, right?" Amata said. She then allowed Kate to mingle with some of other guests. Kate walked towards to counter, stopping by the booth at which Mrs. Palmer was sitting.

Mrs. Palmer turned to her, "I can't believe you're already ten! It seems that it was only yesterday that you and your father... Nevermind me, I'm sure you just want your present, right?" Kate tried not to look sheepish as she nodded. "Well, here you go! A nice sweet roll, baked fresh this morning. And since it's your birthday, you don't have to share it with anyone!" Kate mumbled a thanks as she took the rather large roll. It was still warm and smelled nice. She held it as she continued to the bar. Sitting at the far end was Stanley, the nice guy who performed maintenance on the vault.

Kate suspected that he found her Pipboy and fixed it up. She walked over to him. "How do like the Pipboy?" He asked.

"It's great. Did you fix it up for me?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. Everyone thinks that the 3000 series is outdated, but I've always preferred them for their reliability," Kate didn't really know what he was talking about, but she nodded. "Anyway, you probably didn't come to hear me ramble. I have something else for you. Here, I was digging around and found this," he produced a red baseball cap and handed it to her. She thanked him and went to the counter. Andy, the Mr. Handy robot that Vault 101 had, produced a circular cake.

He called everyone around, his call mostly ignored, so he could cut the cake. Andy powered up his circular saw. Behind the noise, Kate could here a few protests as Andy brought down the saw. The cake was eviscerated on contact. Andy laughed nervously and a few others signed and said things like "Andy..."

From one of the booths, Butch shouted. Kate turned to look at the slightly older boy. "I'm hungry, and the idiot robot destroyed the cake! Give me that sweet roll Old Lady Palmer gave to you!"

Kate tried to take the high road, "Well Mrs. Palmer said that I didn't have to share with anyone..."

Butch mimicked her voice shrilly and continued to ask for it angrily. Kate's temper got the better of her. She had a way of pissing some people off when it wasn't convenient. "Go soak your head, Butch, I'm not giving you the roll," she said calmly. She then proceeded to stuff it in her mouth.

"That's it!" Butch slapped the table and stood up. He put up his fists. Kate did the same, pissed off at his audacity. Butch was about to throw the first punch when Officer Gomez stepped in. Gomez is the father of a boy, Freddie, who was Kate's age. Kate liked him. He grabbed the boy's arms.

"Butch, what are doing? Hitting a girl? And on her birthday!" He questioned. Kate made her way back to Amata.

Amata stared at Butch, with obvious distaste. "God, the nerve of that kid,"

"He tried to take my sweet roll!" Kate said.

"Wow, I mean on your birthday and everything,"

"I was a little my fault, he pissed me off, so I told him to go 'soak his head'," Amata smiled and giggled, "Anyway, can't you talk to your dad about him and his stupid little gang?"

Amata darkened a little, "You know how he gets," a finger tapped Kate on the shoulder. She turned to see her dad.

"That was Jonas on the intercom. He and I have been cooking up a little surprise for you. I don't think anyone would notice if you slipped out and met him in the reactor level. Go on," he smiled. Kate nodded and waved at Amata. She walked into the fluorescently lit hallway. Another woman was walking there and stopped to wish Kate a happy birthday. Kate walked away a bit later with a birthday poem. She'd read it later. Kate followed the signs on the ceiling to find the stairs leading to a lower level. She entered the reacted floor and was greeted by Jonas, a friend of her and her dad.

"What are you doing doing here, little girl?" He asked sarcastically.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Jonas! I'm ten now," Kate said, slightly indignant.

Jonas quickly replied, "I know. Your dad and I have been working on something, but I'd suspect he wants to give it to you himself. Let's just wait a second for the old man to catch up," Jonas adjusted his glasses. A second later, Kate's dad entered the reactor floor.

"Ready for your surprise?"

"What kind of surprise?" Kate asked.

Her dad looked at her, "Well, the Overseer thinks that you're old enough for a Pip-boy, I'd say you're old enough for this," he produced a BB gun from behind his back. He handed it to an awed Kate, as well as some BBs. "It took Jonas and I a while to find all the parts to fix it up with, but eventually we got it working. Do you know how hard it is to find a spring small enough to fit it?" He smiled. "Good thing Butch 'misplaced' that switchblade of his," he added and winked at Kate.

"Thanks dad! A-and You too, Jonas," Kate said, "but, where do we shoot with it? Certainly not here, right?"

Jonas and her father laughed, "Certainly not here, you're right. Unless we wanted the Overseer to beat down our door. Jonas and I also solved that, too. Follow me," her father said.

He lead them through a side door into a large, empty storage room. Towards the back, a few boxes were stacked and behind those, were a few targets. Her father spoke up, "You can shoot here. And best of all, you can come here whenever you want. Why don't you try it out?" he stepped aside, allowing Kate to proceed to the boxes.

Her dad showed her how to load the BB gun, and she loaded it. She shouldered it, and pulled the trigger at the middle target. The BB struck the circle and it spun around a few times. She shot another and hit it. Soon, a rather large cockroach wandered its way into the range. Her father warned her, "Careful honey, that's a radroach. You think you can deal with it?" Kate nodded and re-shouldered the gun and aimed at the roaches head. The insect paused and Kate took the advantage to pull the trigger.

The creature's head exploded, splattering the floor with a yellowish liquid. Kate looked disgustedly at it and then turned. "Jonas, get a picture of me and the big game hunter," her father smiled at Kate.

Jonas produced a camera, "Smile!" Jonas snapped the picture and the bright flash went off.

SIX YEARS LATER

Kate's father turned off his light. "As far as I can tell, you are a perfectly healthy sixteen year-old girl, so, yes, you do have to take the G.O.A.T test," Her father sat in his chair.

Kate resigned. "Ok. Is there anything I should know about the test?"

"Just answer it as honestly as possible, it judge your career in the future," he said.

Kate thanked her father and started to walk out. She passed Jonas on her way out to the classroom. They greeted in passing. Stepping out the door, she noticed Butch and his little gang, standing around Amata. Kate walked up and said to the ringleader, "What's going on here?"

Butch just said, "None of your business," and continued pestering Amata.

"You know, it would kind of suck if the Overseer came down on your little tunnel gang," I smiled and continued, having fun, "I might just want to go talk to him right now,"

Butch stared at her, glaring, "Well, thats bullshit," and again turned to Amata. He continued to ignore Kate. Amata looked at her, pleading. Kate got close and push Butch, hard, into the wall. He turned to her. 'Hey, I tried to take the high road' Kate though. He held up her hands in defence. The leader threw a punch toward her gut. Kate dodged to the left, punching at Butch's armpit. He stepped back, wincing, as Wally Mack, another member, stepped up to the plate. He threw a punch in towards her left shoulder, causing Kate to jump right slightly. She allowed her fist to connect Wally's abdomen. He doubled over and coughed. Butch piped up, "C'mon guys, these bitches aren't worth our time," and they walked into the classroom.

Kate turned to Amata. "Thanks for getting rid of them. Assholes," Amata said.

"Why were they bothering you?" Kate asked.

Amata looked at her, "I don't know, they won't leave me alone! They keep calling me a 'daddy's girl' and making fun of me for being the Overseer's daughter," she replied.

"Why don't you talk to your dad about them?" Kate asked.

Amata answered, "I don't think he would do anything about them," she shrugged and continued into the classroom. Kate followed, to be greeted by the teacher, Mr Brotch. Kate liked him well enough, he was pretty nice, just a little overbearing sometimes. Kate said, "Hello," and continued to her seat, at the front of the room.

Mr. Brotch greeted the rest of the class, "Now that all of you seemed to find the classroom alright, we can get started,"

He looked at his paper, "Question 1: You are approached by a frenzied Vault scientist, who yells,'I'm going to put my quantum harmonizer in your photonic resonation chamber!' What's your response?" Kate looked at her paper. The answers ranged from responses like: "Yeah, up yours too, buddy!" to just 'Slipping away before the madman could continue his rant,' Kate circled answer 1: "But doctor, wouldn't that cause a parabolic destabilization of the fission singularity?" Kate didn't really know what else to say.

She looked up. Brotch continued, "Question 2: While working as an intern in the Clinic, a patient with a strange infection on his foot stumbles through the door. The infection is spreading at an alarming rate, but the doctor has stepped out for a while. What do you do?" The answers this time were:

Amputate the foot before the infection spreads

Scream for help

Medicate the infected area to the best of your abilities

Restrain the patient, and merely observe as the infection spreads

Thinking of her dad, she selected the 'Medicate' option. Mr. Brotch started Question 3 "You discover a young boy lost in the lower levels of the Vault. He's hungry and frightened, but also appears to be in possession of stolen property. What do you do?" The 'Lead the boy to safety and then turn him into the Overseer' looked to be the best.

"Question 4: Congratulations! You made one of the Vault 101 baseball teams! Which position do you prefer?" Kate always like tossing the baseball to her father, so she picked 'Pitcher'.

"Question 5: Your grandmother invites you to tea, but you're surprised when she gives you a pistol and orders you to kill another Vault resident. What do you do?" This was an odd question. She never liked killing people, so Kate opted for the answer 'Offer your most prized possession for the resident's life'.

Brotch was on a roll, "Old Mr. Abernathy has locked himself in his quarters again, and you've been ordered to get him out. How do you proceed?" The answers were:

Use a bobby pin to pick the lock on the door

Trade a Vault hoodlum for his cherry bomb and blow open the lock.

Go to the armory, retrieve a laser pistol, and blow the lock off.

Walk away, and let the old coot rot.

None of these seemed like great answers, so she 'picked the lock'.

"Question 7: Oh, no! You've been exposed to radiation, and a mutated hand has grown out of your stomach! What's the best course of treatment?" 'Oh no!' Kate thought sarcastically. She penciled in 'Large doses of anti-mutagen agent'.

"Question 8: A fellow Vault 101 resident is in possession of a Grognak the Barbarian comic book, issue number 1. You want it. What's the best way to obtain it?" God this was getting repetitive. Kate answered with 'Slip some knock out drops into the resident's Nuka-Cola, and take the comic book when he's unconscious'.

"Question 9: You decide it would be fun to play a prank on your father. You enter his private restroom when no one is looking, and..." 'Ok, this is getting stupid,' Kate thought. All of the answers sounded dangerous, so she circled 'Loosen some bolts on some pipes. When the sink is turned on, the room will flood'. That sounded the least dangerous.

Finally, the last question! "Last question, folks! Question 10: Who is indisputably the most important person in Vault 101: He who shelters us from the harshness of the atomic wasteland, and to whom we owe everything we have, including our lives?" Brotch said that dully, as if it was unneeded. Every answer was 'The Overseer'.

Brotch finished with, "That's it, folks! The infamous goat! Hand in your test and then take the rest of the day off, to celebrate, or to pray, heh heh," Kate stood up. Advancing toward Brotch's desk, she gave him her test results. He pulled out a pen and looked over the test, marking a little as he went. "Interesting. 'Clinical Test Subject'... sounds like something you should excel at. I guess you and your dad will be working together," he gave back the test and it had 'Medicine', 'Science', and 'Repair' written on it. Kate shrugged, thinking that this wasn't the worst result and exited the classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Murphy's Law

"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong"

Three Years Later

Kate was pulled out of dreamless sleep by Amata. "Wake up! Come, wake up!" Kate sat up aware of the sound of the red alert alarms echoing through the Vault.

The world was a little hazy still. "Waz going on?" Kate sleepily slurred, her eyelids still half closed.

"It's your dad! Somehow he got out, and now my dad wants you," That woke Kate up a little.

Kate spoke a little more clearly, "I thought the Vault has been closed for 200 years,"

Amata replied, "I don't know how, but he did it," the expression on her face finally struck Kate.

"Oh my God, are you okay?"

Amata looked her in the eye, "It's Jonas. They killed him! The officers! Oh my God, you have to get out, or they might do the same to you!" Amata helped stand her up.

"How?" Kate asked.

"In my dad's office, there is a secret tunnel that leads to the entrance. I believe that there is a computer terminal that opens it up," Amata answered. "Also, I swiped this from my dad's office," she held out a standard issue 10mm Pistol that the Vault security has. She held it out to Kate.

"No, I can't take it, you might need it more than I do!" Kate refused, thinking about shooting someone.

Amata resigned, "Ok, maybe it'll come in handy if I run into any radroaches. I'll meet you by the door if I can," and she left. Kate stood up again and cleared some things off her dresser. He picked up the BB gun, the BBs, and a baseball bat. She cleared out her medical kit on the wall containing some bobby pins and stimpacks. Clearing her drawers, looking for anything useful, she left the room.

The hallway was populated with flashing red lights, indicating the alert. An officer down the hall had also noticed her, bringing her attention to him. "There she is! Hold it right there!" He was unrecognisable with his helmet on, and he raised his baton, extending it. A radroach had also entered it self onto the scene, changing the officer's attention. He focused on the roach and began beating it with the baton. Kate began hitting a different one, a few hits and it stopped moving.

The guard had again turned his attention to her. The baton was held high, poised to strike and the guard moved towards her. Kate lifted the bat in a feeble attempt to block the strike. The baton flew down, hitting the bat hard and the officer bounced back slightly. Kate knew that she really would have to fight back to get out. The guard was still off-balance and was not expecting a blow. Kate struck him with bat. It connected with the side of his helmet and he crashed into the wall. He slumped to the ground.

'Is he alive?' Kate wondered. She couldn't tell. Picking up the guard's baton and hiding it somewhere, she moved through the hallway, toward the stairs to the clinic and the atrium.

"You've gotta help me!" 'And look who it is' Kate thought. Butch saw her and asked for help.

"What is it, Butch?" She said with a sigh.

"The roaches! They're attacking my mom! Please, you've gotta help me!" "And you can't do anything about it?' She thought. Kate disliked Butch, but his mother didn't deserve to die.

Kate said after a moment, "Alright, lets go help your mom," she followed Butch down the hall to his apartment. She entered and could immediately hear Mrs. DeLoria yelling for help. Entering the bedroom, Kate started thwacking at the roaches until they were all not-moving. The floor was covered in the yellow goo that was their blood. Mrs. DeLoria stood up, body covered with little bloodstains, where the roaches scratched and bit.

Butch yelled, "We did it!" 'We?" Kate thought. "My mom's going to be okay! Thank you, Kate. Here, take my jacket as thanks," He took off the Tunnel Snake jacket that he always wore and offered it to Kate. She took it and put it on. It was quite warm and might come in handy later. Before leaving, she looked around the room and took a bottle of whiskey, a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter. She checked if the zippo would light and was satisfied that it worked. She left and continued up the stairs, to the clinic.

More shouts and scuttering of little insects filled the hallway that Kate entered. She turned right and saw Officer Gomez and the robot, Andy, fighting a little pack of Radroaches. Kate ran to assist as Andy began burning the insects. After the roaches were taken care of, Gomez turned to Kate. "You're lucky it was me who found you, kid. The others might not be so forgiving," he began. "Listen, I like you, Kate, so I'm going to let you go. I hope you get out alive and find your dad. But, you have to go ASAP!" he looked worried. Kate nodded and spoke her thanks as Andy began addressing her.

"Looking for your father, Kate? I heard he went topside to get some fresh air. I suspect that he'll be back soon," Kate nodded at the robot and walked into the clinic, to search for more medical supplies. 'Who knows what's out there?' She thought as she looked.

Satisfied with her findings (five stimpacks, a bit more alcohol, and some bobby pins), she continued through the door that led to the atrium. The bigger open room greeted her as well as two arguing adults. Kate saw that they were Tom Holden and Mary Holden, a newlywed couple. Tom appeared to be arguing that they could leave the vault. After a quick row, Tom ran to the door that led to the large Vault door. He shouted at the guards, "Hey! It's me Tom! Let me through!"

The officers open fired at him anyway, striking him once in the abdomen and twice in the chest. He collapsed like a bag of potatoes. Angered, Kate ran at the officers, swerving to avoid the hail of bullets that ensued. She met them and hit the officer on the right. Kate recognised Mr. Richards through his helmet. She quickly beat him down with her bat. Officer O'Brian, the other one was also dispatched by her bat. She quickly searched their bodies, taking a 10mm Pistol and all their ammo. She attached the pistol to her side, using her belt. The ammo, she pocketed and checked the door. 'Locked. Figures,' she thought. She reentered the atrium and and continued up the stairs to her left, towards the Overseer's office.

Kate encountered a few more roaches and they were easily killed with the help of her bat. She reentered the atrium, this time above on an elevated level. Walking past a window, someone beat on the other side. Muffled, the man said, "YOU! This is your fault! If your dad hadn't left…" Kate flipped him off before he was able to finish, and moved on. She entered a server room of some sort, and heard more insects. A dead maintenance guy was laying in a pool of his own blood, bitten and scratched to death.

'A truly horrible way to go,' Kate though. She whacked the roaches and left. Encountering another guard, she became tired of fighting. She quickly blocked a baton strike and then smashed the bat against the officer's knees. He immediately grabbed at his leg and toppled over, yelling in pain. Kate swiftly delivered a blow to his head and he stopped. She walked out and looked through another window.

In the room sat Amata, with her father standing in front of the chair and another officer, Kate assumed that it was the chief, Officer Mack. The Overseer spoke, "We're not going to hurt your friend, we just want to talk to her," he said calmly.

"I'm telling you, I don't know anything!" She pleaded. She stood up backing into a corner of the room.

"Amata listen to reason," the Overseer said.

"Leave me alone!" Amata shouted, pulling out the 10mm Pistol.

The Overseer looked outraged, "Amata! Where did you get that?" He asked. "Officer Mack!" Mack began moving toward the girl.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said sternly.

"Get away from me!" Amata shouted. She pulled the trigger several times, hitting the officer four time in the leg and twice in the abdomen. Mack collapsed and coughed up some blood. He died a second later. The Overseer gasped. Amata ran out of the room. She ran across the hallway into her and her father's' apartment. Kate ran after her, entering the science lab. Strewn about the floor were empty vials and beakers, straws and cylindrical equipment. Sprawled on the floor also was Jonas, dead from three bullets to the chest. In his hand was a holotape for the Pip-boy. Kate picked it up and loaded it into her wrist appliance.

The audio recording started: "Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first.

I... I don't really know how to tell you this. I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but in the end I decided it was best for you not to know. So many things could have gone wrong and there's really no telling how the overseer will react when he finds out. It's best if he can blame everything on me. Obviously you already know that I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own. Maybe someday things will change and we can see each other again. I can't tell you why I left or where I'm going. I don't want you to follow me. God knows life in the vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going."

Jonas' voice cut in: "Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with."

The recording finished with: "Okay. Go ahead. Goodbye. I love you."

Kate swallowed her anger and pressed on, picking the lock on the Overseer's office door. With the lock over with, the door control turned on, allowing Kate to press the button and open the door. She moved toward the computer screen and pressed the power button. The screen lit up slightly and a command line was activated.

Kate typed:

SET TERMINAL/INQUIRE

The computer answered.

RIT-V300

Kate typed:

SET FILE/PROTECTION-OWNER:RWED ACCOUNTS.F

Nothing happened.

SET HALT RESTART/MAINT

The computer answered back:

Initializing Robco Industries(™) MF Boot Agent v2.3.0

RETROS BIOS

RBIOS- 52EE5.E7.E8

Copyright 2201-2203 Robco Ltd.

Uppermem: 64 KB

Root (5A8)

Maintenance Mode

Kate read it and continued.

RUN DEBUG/ACCOUNTS.F

The screen flashed the text once before rolling it up and revealing a selection of encryption codes and random symbols. Kate selected "HELPED" as her first attempt. The computer replied with "2/6 CORRECT". She assumed that the correct letters were "ed" in the ending. She selected the next code with "ed" in the end, "LOCKED". The computer beeped, indicating the right code.

The computer filled in the rest:

LOGON ADMIN

ENTER PASSWORD NOW:  
*****

The screen showed a few selections. One was marked "RESIDENT PROFILES".

Another, "REPORTS". The last, "UNLOCK OVERSEER'S TUNNEL". Kate highlighted that last option and hit enter. Suddenly, a screech sounded in the office and Kate turned around. The Overseer's desk raised on a few metal beams quickly, revealing a set of stairs leading to a door. Kate moved swiftly down the stairs and advanced through the door. She entered the small hallway that was behind the door.

The slight sounds of roaches filled the hall and Kate turned the corner to the left. She bashed a few more roaches with the bat. At the end of the hall was a small storage room and a door switch. No door was present, but Kate pressed the green button. The wall directly in front of Kate began to rise and she went through the passage and entered the large room with the Vault door.

A lever marked "DOOR" was pulled and a moment later, the Vault door began to withdraw from the wall. Amata's quiet voice came from Kate's left. "Oh my God. I can't believe that you did it," she said in awe.

Voices came from behind the door. "She's trying to open the Vault! Open this door!" Two officers spilled into the room a second later, guns blazing.

"Amata, get some cover!" Kate shouted, pulling out her own pistol. She began firing at the officers and dropped one of them. A thing pricked her side and Kate's left hand went to it. Her right continued firing, dropping the other. Her hand felt a little wet. "Amata, I have to go now. I hope that we get to see each other again sometime," Kate said, eager to leave before Amata could notice Kate's wound.

Amata spoke up, "Goodbye, Kate. I'll miss you. I hope you can find your dad," and that was that. Kate walked through the cave to the slatted door at the end.


	3. Chapter 3

"The Atomic Wasteland is a massive cesspool of radiation and mutation. In other words, a shitstain in the universe, a fucking death pit. We left the Vault and encountered new creatures who were slowly mutating and changing. Ants were the size of a large bicycle. Roaches the size of a car tire. We had no idea what it was we were entering. Seasons have stopped working, every day neither hot nor cold. Nights were dangerously cold sometimes but most of the time it remained the same as the day. The sky change from the blue it used to be, to a yellowish muck color. Trees are gone. Snow is gone. Water is a very hard commodity to find. Luckily it still rains it…"

- Journal Entry 23: Two Years on the Outside. Francis Durango, Vault 43: Mile High Area, Colorado. Date: August 27, 2112

##############################################################################

Chapter 3: Welcome to the Wasteland, When Would It be Convenient For You to Die?

Kate slammed closed the slatted wooden door, exclaiming because of the pain. Her left hand was now soaked thoroughly with red. The sun blinded her and she was taken aback by the climate, neither warm, nor cold. Dust blew around in a wind that wasn't effecting the temperature. She looked out from the cave entrance seeing a destroyed town. She needed some shelter so she fix herself up. She stumble down a pile of rocks toward the rubble called a town. The walked almost drunkenly through the street, passing a fly robot. It didn't attack so Kate pressed on through.

Surprisingly, Kate stumbled upon an intact house. She opened the unlocked door and entered into a dimly lit kitchen. A radio was on, playing a relatively fuzzy broadcast. Music from the 1950s played and seemed cherry for the environment.

"Who the hell are you?" A stranger asked. Kate turned her gaze to the voice. A tall, blonde woman stood in the entryway into the living room. She held what looked like a .32 caliber revolver defensively.

Kate sputtered out, "I'm.. sorry.. I'm just.. do you have any.. bandages?" Wincing at every pause. She pulled her hand painfully from the wound, showing it the woman.

The woman's hard expression turned to one of concern. She indicated to a soft looking chair. "Here, sit down, I'll get some for you," she left quickly and the sound of things being moved filled the rooms. Kate sat and produced her bottle of whiskey. The drink burned as it slithered down her throat, but it numbed the pain slightly. The woman returned with a thick roll of gauze.

Kate took it and unzipped the jacket. She then unzipped the top half of her jumpsuit, revealing her brassiere. She felt on her back for an exit wound and found one, sighing with thankfulness. She began meticulously wrapping the gauze around her abdomen, covering the hole. After a thick wrap was in place and using some adhesive to secure it, Kate took another swig of her whiskey. She injected a stimpack just above the wrapping, biting back the pain of the needle. She stopped feeling intense pain; it was replaced by a dull prong.

Kate sighed again. "Thanks," she moved to hand the rest of the gauze back, but the woman waved a hand.

"Keep it. Now, answer my question. Who the hell are you?" Her face returned to hardness, "Did Moriarty send you?"

Kate was taken aback, but hid it. "I'm Kate, from the Vault. Who the hell is Moriarty?"

The woman's expression changed again to understanding. "Just some shithead who wants me dead," she said.

"Um, I don't want to pry, but why?" Kate asked, curiously.

"He thinks I stole from him," she replied, sitting in another chair.

"Did you?" Kate asked.

The woman returned, "Well, yeah, but it's not enough to want me dead. It is just some money. It's like, half of what he makes a week,"

Didn't sound like a lot, "So, why'd you do it?"

"I needed the money. I was practically a slave for him," she replied. "By the way, my name's Silver," she said.

Kate reached over and shook her hand, "Nice to meet you, Silver,"

"Pleasure's mine, Kate,"

"Is there anything I can do to help your problem?"

"I'm not sure. You have any ideas?"

"Maybe you can give me some caps, and I'll tell this Moriarty you're gone," Kate suggested.

Silver responded, "I guess it's as good of an idea as any. Hold on," she stood up and returned to the living room. Kate took the second to drink some more whiskey. Her throat now burned and scratched slightly, but she didn't really care. Silver returned with a small knit sack of... something that jingles when jostled. "Here's 500 bottle caps. Moriarty runs a saloon in Megaton, just over the hill to the south, so if you're ever there, you can relay the information," Silver instructed.

Kate looked a little confused, "I'm sorry, did you say bottle caps?"

Silver explained, "Oh yeah, you're from the Vault. Caps are our currency in the wasteland, just like dollars used to be," Kate made a sound of understanding. She thanked Silver for her hospitality and left. Just before the door shut, Silver yelled, "Come back anytime!" Kate nodded and shut it. Her torso no longer hurt and pangs of dull throbbing replaced it. Just like Silver said, a sign was painted on the side of the road, with an arrow pointed up the hill, and word saying MEGATON. Kate followed the sign, assuming civilization was a place to start looking for her dad. She also wanted Silver's problem out of the way.

She walked, right leg, then left leg, up the hill and near the top, was a large gate. Kate couldn't really explain it. It looked like a bunch of airplane parts placed haphazardly together. Another friendly looking robot stood in front of the gates. In a robotic sounding, highly imitated southern accent, it said, "Welcome to Megaton, pardner. Grab a nice drink at the Moriarty's saloon," The gates sld upward with a loud wrenching sound and Kate entered the town. The town followed the theme of "airplane parts place haphazardly together".

A stocky, large African American man, wearing a grimy trenchcoat and texan hat strolled up to her. Kate could see the stock of some weapon just over his shoulder. "Well, hot damn, another newcomer!" Kate returned his greeting. "Name's Lucas Simms. I guess you could call me the sheriff and mayor of Megaton,"

Kate replied, "Nice to meet you, Lucas. I'm Kate,"

The sheriff said back, "Yeah, nice to meet you," They shook hands.

"I wondering if you've my dad. Middle-aged guy?"

Simms answered, "I'm sorry, I don't keep track of who comes in and out. I'd ask over at the saloon. Anything else?" Simms asked.

As Lucas shifted to his other leg, Kate saw the reason that the city is Megaton. Sitting in the ground at the bottom of the pit in the middle of the town, was a large 100-megaton nuclear bomb, undetonated! "About the bomb…" Kate started.

"We're pretty sure it's a dud. I don't really trust anyone to tinker with it. There's even a religion based here that worships it!" Simms answered.

"Would you mind if I just looked at it?"

"Hell, there would be a reward if you can deactivate it! Listen, you look like the smart type, so I'll let you try. You also don't look like one who like killing people. 200 caps in it for you and the deed to a house here in Megaton if you work it out," Simms finished.

Kate thanked the sheriff and found her way around the city. It was built creatively, like a series of catwalks around the pit. Ramps were built from certain bits down to the pit and started creating multiple levels. Kate made her way around to the big sign saying, "Moriarty's Saloon". Kate assumed that was a saloon.

Outside the door stood a man wearing a sleeveless leather jacket over a short sleeved white t-shirt. Kate walked up to the rail to smoke as well and the man turned to her. In an Irish accent, he greeted her. "Hello, lass. Colin Moriarty, at your service,"

"Ah, so you're Moriarty. Heard from another that you had a problem with a chick named Silver?"

"Aye, yes, she stole money and a supply of drugs from me. Why, any news?"

"Yeah, she's gone," Kate said.

"Oh, ho ho! I knew someone would finally do it! I thank you, lass! Now, what can I do you for?" Moriarty asked.

Kate replied, "I'm looking for my father. Middle aged guy. Have you seen him?"

Colin looked surprised, "Oh my God. It's you! The wee little baby girl, all grown up! Yeah, I've seen him, and I knew where he was going. Since you took care of Silver for me, I'll tell you for free. He came in here, a little while ago saying something about heading to Galaxy News Radio in Washington D.C. I'd start there," Colin finished. He flicked his cigarette butt away, into the small pool of irradiated water at the bottom of the pit. He said his well wishes and goodbyes and walked into the saloon.

Kate finished hers and did the same thing. She approached the counter and sat on a stool. A man strolled up. He looked like a zombie from an old Romero film, but more fucked up. He greeted her, "Hey, smoothskin, what do you want?" 'Gah, Fuck! What are you?' she wanted to say, but that wasn't good etiquette.

Instead she said, "Um, let me think for a second," a little nervously.

The zombified man replied, "What, you're not going to hit me? Not even berate me?"

"I wasn't really thinking about it," Kate replied.

The man responded, "Well, you're alright! I'm Gob, by the way. Hey, Moriarty would have my ass for this, but for you, I'm willing to risk it. You get a permanent discount,"

Kate ordered, "Thanks. I'll just have a bottle of whiskey, please," Gob grabbed a small bottle of the golden liquid and put it on the table.

"Twelve caps, friend," Kate counted the caps from the little sack that Silver gave her. She picked up the whiskey.

Kate suddenly realised, "Hey, is there a store of some kind in town?"

Gob answered, "Closest thing we have to a store here is Craterside Supply. Girl named Moira owns it. She can get you almost anything," Kate thanked Gob and began walking out, but not before noticing a particular gentleman in the corner; he didn't look like he belonged, wearing a nicer suit and tortoiseshell glasses. He caught her eye. She walked over to him.

"My, my, just when I had all but given up hope. My dear girl, I am very _pleased_ to make your acquaintance. I am Mister Burke," he spoke in a soft voice. He smiled, as if he'd finally won, or something.

Kate responded, "Uh, hello. I'm sorry, but what is this about?" She asked.

Burke looked happy, "Straight to the point. I like that. Just when I thought i'd seen the last person in this…" he paused, choosing his words, "cesspool. I have a little job that I think you'd be interested in; you see, it'll be a blast," he winked.

"I'm interested," Kate said, not sure of what would be coming next.

"I'm glad," Burke nodded, "You see, all I need you to do is attach this fusion pulse charge to the bomb in the center of town. 500 caps if you do it," Kate was outraged, and a little taken aback. 'He wants me to destroy the town?! This guy's nuts!' she thought.

Then, an idea spawned in her head. "Okay, I'll do it. But I want 1,000 caps instead," She had no intention of actually going through with it, but she'd at least mess with him a bit.

"Done. Meet me at Tenpenny Tower when you've finished. From there, we can see the fireworks," he handed her the pulse charge and went back to his drink. Kate walked out of the bar, making her way to the gate, where she hoped that she would find Simms. Sure enough, the man in the duster coat walked up the hill and Kate approached him.

"Sheriff, there is a man, goes by the name of Burke, who wants to blow up the town," Kate started.

Simms looked angry, "He wants what?!" He asked.

Kate held out the pulse charge. "He gave me this to detonate the bomb," Simms slid the Chinese assault rifle out of it's holster on his back. He pulled back the bolt, readying a 7.62mm round.

He looked pissed, "I think we should go chat with this lunatic," he ran, Kate in tow, to the bar. Surprisingly, Burke had not left yet, and was finishing his drink. Lucas leveled his rifle, "The jig's up, Burke; I know of your plan," Kate stepped into Burke's view and gave him a middle finger.

Burke responded casually, "Sheriff Simms, I don't believe I know what you're talking about," he looked calm.

"You know full well what I'm talking about. You're planning to blow up the bomb in Megaton!" This attracted a few worried onlookers. Simms continued, "You're coming with me, Burke,"

Burke nonchalantly replied, "Fine, Simms, I'll follow you," Simms turned around. Burke took a second and then reached in his suit coat. He produced a 10mm pistol with a silencer on it. Kate grabbed for her own pistol. Burke fired at Lucas, hitting his leg and lower back. Kate fired, hitting just below Burke's armpit; a heart shot. He was dead before his legs gave out. Lucas twisted and fell to the ground, bleeding heavily.

His hand went to his stomach, where Kate could see the bullet went through. The 10mm round struck his spine, then punctured three organs, causing internal bleeding. Lucas was dead and he knew it. He coughed some blood and sputtered out at Kate, "Tell Harley, I never would've left him," he reached into his duster pocket and gave her a key. Written, it said, "Simms' house". He also handed her the assault rifle.

Kate took it and Lucas' arm dropped as he rasped out the last breath. Kate reached into his pockets and pulled out some ammo before standing up, not ready for the world.

**Wow, that took me a while to get right. I had to rewrite both Burke encounters quite a few times before they were right. I didn't want to use as much in-game dialogue; the result is pretty good, in my opinion. Let me know how I did. RRR.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Moira and Her Survival Guide

"_Leave me out of that girl's crazy experiments. I don't get payed enough for that," -Moira's Bodyguard_

Kate opened the door marked, in a scrawl of handwriting, "Craterside Supply". The door shut as Kate stepped into the building. Following with the town theme of "Destroyed Air Travel", it looked like a patchwork of corrugated steel, metal railings, and old metal walls. A burly, mean-looking, guard wearing hard leather armor stood, with his back to the wall, next to the door. His face said, "I am going to screw you up if you try something,"

A somewhat shorter, possibly around 5'8", young woman stepped forward. Her hair was a similar shade of auburn to Kate's. She wore an eccentric smile and a grey jumpsuit, sporting the prewar logo of RobCo. "Hey, I know you! Your that stray from the Vault, aren't you?"

Kate, taken aback slightly, replied, "I am. News travels fast here, doesn't it?"

Moira nodded. "Say, I'm writing a book about the wasteland. It'd be great to have a forward by a vault dweller! Help me out, would you?"

Kate looked confused, but she decided why not, "Sure, I have lots to say about life in the Vault,"

Moira was excited, "Great! Just tell me what it's like to live underground all your life, or leaving the Vault for the first time, or whatever strikes your fancy!"

"It was cramped, dark, and the food sucked. Good Riddance," Kate saw the opportunity she had been given, to see the land and to meet new people. She did have a lingering feeling about Amata though.

"Well, that doesn't sound very fun, but, hey, it makes a great forward! Thanks for contributing. Here, take this Vault jumpsuit. Someone wanted it to be armored a while ago, but they never came back!"

Moira pulled a Vault suit off of a coat hanger behind her counter. The Vault number was still yellow, exactly like her old one, except it said "112" instead of "101". Kate took it and decided to visit a private place to change into it. "That'll be good for the book-in fact, do you want to help with the research? It would be really helpful! I can pay you, and it'll be fun!" Moira continued.

Kate then asked, "What kind of book are you writing, anyway?"

Moira looked pleased, being asked this. "Well, it's sort of a guide. You know, survival in the Wasteland. I need some help with things like: finding food, explosives and how to avoid them, and curing radiation poisoning. Things like that! The later chapters will get into survival of the human race as a whole, like repopulation and things like that," Moira described her book.

Kate liked the idea, and it would help people, so she agreed. "I guess I'll help with your research; what needs to be done first?"

Moira was absolutely delighted, "Well first things first: I need to know where to find food and medicine, I need help with mines and the dangers of them, and I need to research radiation poisoning. I'll let you decide which to research first,"

Kate thought for a moment, "I think I can do the food one first,"

"Great! Now, I hear that there is some food over at the old Super-Duper Mart. I would start there! It's south of Megaton,"

"OK, I'll start there,"

#############################################################################

Just south of Megaton:

Kate had wandered for around a half hour, using her pipboy compass to navigate south. Soon, she saw a rather large and strangely intact building with a large, neon sign, saying "SUPER-DUPER MART". Power was out, so the sign wasn't lit. She could also hear gunfire fairly close and wondered what was happening. She pulled the Chinese assault rifle from her shoulder. She had purchased some ammo off of Moira, who also told her it was a Type 93.

Holding it at the ready, she sprinted to the back of the building and took cover by the wall. The gunfire continued, with the occasional pulsing sound of a laser gun. She crept around the side towards the front. The entrance area came into view just in time to see a raider fall to the ground, bloody around the neck and covered with scorch marks. She turned the corner and saw a fellow with a motorcycle helmet on, complete with goggles, and what looked like normal clothes; t-shirt and worn jeans. Accompanying him was a robot, identical to Andy, back at the Vault. That was what was cracking with laser fire.

The survivor nodded towards Kate, noticing her outfit. All raiders wore a Mad Max-style outfit that was tattered and covered with victims blood. Kate wore Butch's jacket over the armored jumpsuit. The man then said something: "You might want to take the raider's rifle. That Type 93's good, but won't do much good over long range. That rifle will." He then walked away.

Kate knelt by the raider and took the decrepit hunting rifle; she also grabbed all the .32 caliber ammo on him. She then strung the rifle on her back, next to the Type 93. Entering the mart, she noticed that it was dark. Lit by only a hole in the roof, the mart was eerie. Not only that, but she also noticed at least three raider sentries on top of the shelves. They moved in patrol routes and brandished rifles and submachine guns. Kate crouched.

They obviously hadn't seen her, and she would like to keep it that way. She pulled the silenced 10mm pistol from Burke out and loaded it. Entering the main room, she she stopped and looked around. On her left was a line of around fifteen cash registers and signs; on the right was an office with a counter. Kate hugged the wall towards the office, and then hopped quietly over the counter. She was reminded of sneaking around the Vault with Amata, looking for cool things and extra food.

In the office, an island counter stood in the center, and the walls had counters of their own, lined with shelves. Against the wall opposite was an antique refrigerator. Kate explored the shelves, most of which were empty, but occasionally, there was an ammo container or something. Kate unlocked these with a bobby pin and and took the ammo inside. Along with 10mm and .32 caliber, there were also a lot of energy cells and a laser pistol. She put the pistol and energy cells into her backpack, and then checked the fridge. Inside was some food, mostly non-perishables like Dandy Boy Apples.

Kate left through the door. Hugging the wall, she crept along the outside, just out of sight. The light only reached so far. Around the back of the Mart were two other rooms, similar to the first. She peeked over the counter of the nearest one, and saw a tall, buff woman, holding an assault rifle. She seemed to be pacing around, guarding something. Before she could look, Kate raised her silent pistol and squeezed the trigger. The woman was caught off-guard; she sprawled forward into the wall, a large, bloody hole through her skull.

Kate lept over the counter and began searching for things. The body gave up some ammo, but that was it. A doorway, just around the corner from the body, led into hallway. Kate peered through and saw another raider advancing toward her. He wasn't at the ready, but he looked like he heard something, like rats or something. Before he could see her clearly, Kate popped him in the throat. He fell to his knees, gurgling quietly, and then fell face forward. Blood leaked through the hole clean through his neck. Kate checked the body. Nothing of use. She continued through the hallway, emerging into the other office.

It was quite dark here and two guards stood in front of the counter. Neither had noticed her. She crept forward and stood behind one. The other was looking in a different direction. She grabbed the raider in front of her, covering his mouth. She then pulled him back, and turned to the other. Still oblivious, he was shot through the head, slumping into the counter. The guy she held widened his eyes, mortified, and began to hyperventilate. She double tapped him in the lower back and then let go. Searching the bodies revealed a key. It fit in the door behind her, marked "Pharmacy". She stepped in, shutting the door behind her.

Here, the room was lit by a singular recharge pod, lit up. In it, was a robot, same as the one in front of Megaton. Also there was a terminal and loads of medicine. Sitting in crates in the corner were about a dozen bottles of Nuka-Cola, and two Nuka-Cola Quantum. Kate grabbed these, and any meds, before urging to the terminal.

She began typing, but a voice echoed through the store. "Alright, we're back… Wait… Something's not right…" Someone had noticed something and it was only a matter of time before Kate would be discovered, raped, and then killed. She continued hack, this time quicker. The terminal beeped happily, indicating the right override (HELPING). The terminal surrendered access to the securitron in the charger hub. After being activated, the robot stepped out and in a tinny voice, said, "Super-Duper Mart maintenance protocol not active; running diagnostics," it paused as it ran through it's systems.

"Diagnostics failed. Detecting hostile organisms; security override activated," Kate hoped that it didn't mean her, but the robot ignored her and advanced back into the mart proper. Immediately, the fizzle of laser fire and the loud pops of small arms fire echoed through the store. Kate pulled the hunting rifle off her back and ran back into the store, ducking behind the counter. As the raiders were preoccupied, they paid no notice to her. Popping a few, Kate found that the hunting rifle was quite accurate.

A few moments later, Kate was checking the bodies for any ammo, and found mostly garbage. She was no worse for wear, but the securitron took quite a few bullets all over, and it's metal was chipped. It kept saying things like, "Enjoy your shopping experience," or "Finding everything alright, ma'am?" in it's tinny voice. Kate was just glad that the targeting inhibitor wasn't damaged.

##############################################################################

Kate started to backtrack her way to Megaton. She climbed the hill. The sun was setting and the sky was turning to a burnt orange. The familiar crunch of sand and dirt filler her ears as she walked. Looking to her left, she noticed a bombed out house. Deciding to explore a little, she entered the house, finding little. The top floor contained the only valuables: about twenty caps, and a book, entitled Duck and Cover. The book had loads of information of explosives, and conveniently, walked her through disarming a nuclear bomb! It was quite simple, just cut the power supply. She slid the book into her backpack and continued to Megaton.

Moira greeted her as a customer when Kate walked in. Moira asked her about the food situation with the Mart and Kate answered with, "I found some food and medicine in the pharmacy, but raiders had occupied the place. I had to sneak around to look,"

Moira looked slightly disappointed, but kept her cheery tone, "I thought that a place like that might be dangerous, but I guess you never know until you try! Anyway, thanks for looking around there for me. Here is the reward: some food and a food sanitizer!" Moira handed Kate a rather large stack of boxed food and what looked like a small metal case with a fan on the top. "Just carry this around, and it should make most food better for you!" Kate slid the food and device into her backpack, which was now getting heavy.

Kate thought for a moment, "... Ok, that leaves the radiation poisoning and the mines right?"

Moira answered, "Yep, and then chapter one will be finished!" Kate hated the prospect of getting herself irradiated, but also hated getting blown up by a frag mine.

She sighed, "I guess I'll come to you if I get any radiation poisoning, or if I find a mine."

"Great, that'd be good. Now, don't worry, I have a remedy for the radiation and I can reward you for your trouble," Kate turned around and walked out, after saying goodbye. Kate hurried down to the bomb, and pulled, with difficulty, the Duck and Cover book from her backpack. She opened to the page where it described the nuclear device, and opened a panel on the bomb. She traced the wires(monochromatic) to their respective section and found the one for power. She cut it and then slid the supply out of its casing. She closed the panel and the bomb was now defunct.


End file.
